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Bishnoi Forest Campaign
The Bishnoi Forest Campaign was an early environmentalist campaign in what is now Western Rajistan, India in 1730 to prevent deforestation, this led to a state-supported massacre of 363 nonviolent protesters. Background The Bishnoi or Vishnoi faith is a religious offshoot of Hinduism founded in 1485 by Guru Maharaj Jambaji, it has 29 principles, they are: # Observe 30 days' state of ritual impurity after child's birth and keep mother and child away from household activities. # Observe 5 days' segregation while a woman is in her menses. # Take bath daily in the morning before Sunrising. # Obey the ideal rules of life: Modesty, Patience or satisfactions, cleanliness. # Pray two times everyday (morning and evening). # Eulogise God, Vishnu, in evening hours (Aarti) # Perform Yajna (Havan) with the feelings of welfare devotion and love. # Use filtered water, milk and cleaned firewood. # Speak pure words in all sincerity. # Practice forgiveness from heart. # Be merciful by heart. # Do not steal or keep any intention to do it. # Do not condemn or criticize. # Do not lie. # Do not indulge in dispute/debate. # Fast on Amavasya. # Worship and recite Lord Vishnu in adoration # Be merciful to all living beings and love them. # Do not cut green trees, save the environment. # Crush lust, anger, greed and attachment. # Cook your food by yourself. # Provide shelters for abandoned animals to avoid them from being slaughtered in abattoirs. # Do not sterilise bulls. # Do not use or trade opium. # Do not smoke or use tobacco or its products. # Do not take bhang or hemp. # Do not drink alcohol/liquor. # Do not eat meat, always remain pure vegetarian. # Do not use violet blue colour extracted from the indigo plant.Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishnoi#29_rules Notable of these are several rules promoting environmental stewardship, forbidding the harming of trees and animals. This was based on Jambaji's personal experience as he witnessed the cutting of trees during droughts which made them worse, and began to realize ecosystems were highly sensitive and interdependent, their instability having massive consequences for humans and animals. When the local maharajah (king) of Jodhpur wanted to build a new palace, he sent soldiers to gather wood from the forests around Khejarli, a small villages with many Bishnois. Events When the soldiers began to cut down trees, many Bishnois protested peacefully, but were ignored by the soldiers who followed their orders. Amrita Devi, a local villager, could not bear to witness the destruction of both her faith and the village's sacred trees. She decided to literally hug the trees, and encouraged others to do so too, proclaiming: “A chopped head is cheaper than a felled tree.” Bishnois from Khejri and nearby villages came to the forest and embraced the trees one by one to protect them from being cut down. The soldiers attempted to bribe the villagers, which only insulted them.Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khejarli_massacre Bishnois from 83 villages began to travel to Jehnad in an attempt to save the trees. and a council was convened to determine what could be done about the situation. The council's decision was that each Bishnoi volunteer would lay down their life to defend one of the threatened trees. Older people went forward first, with many of them being killed as they hugged the Khejris.They began to decapitate villagers who As each villager hugged a tree, refusing to let go, they were beheaded by the soldiers. This voluntary martyrdom continued until 363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in the name of the sacred Khejarli forest, leading to it becoming known as the Kherjali Massacre.https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/bishnoi-villagers-sacrifice-lives-save-trees-1730 Results Upon hearing of the beheadings, the king rushed to the village and apologized, ordering the soldiers to stop logging, and designated the Bishnoi state as a protected area forbidding harm to trees and animals. This legislation still exists today in the region. In memory of the 363 Bishnois, who died protecting their dear trees, a number of khejri trees are planted around the area, which is still notably lush and rich with animal life. The Bishnoi sacrifices became the inspiration for a much larger Chipko movement that is still growing today, in which villagers physically embrace trees to save them from logging. References Category:Libertarian Socialist Wiki Category:Environmentalism Category:Southern Asia Category:Asia Category:India Category:Deforestation Category:Social Movements Category:1700s